Rabbit Hunt
by Romania Keller 29
Summary: Vanilla comes to the Chaotix hoping that they can find her daughter, Cream. Roman, the newest member of the team, sees this as an opportunity to prove her worth.
1. Chapter 1

Chaotix Chronicles Vol. 2

(Hello, friends! I'm so, so sorry it took me so long to get this next portion written, my life has been hectic these past few months. Anyway, I know what direction I want this series to go in now, and I'm hoping that this story- as well as the rest of this series- is not nearly as sloppy as the first story was. Also, I hope you don't mind, but I will be rewriting some of the canon character's backstories to varying degrees. With that said, here we go.)

Prologue

 _12 years prior_

"You've gone mad, Aleena."

"Please," Queen Aleena begged, "will you at least consider my offer? I'm giving you an opportunity to save your clan from total destruction."

The Bride of Constant Vigil let out a dry laugh, "On the contrary, we will be given protection inside the kingdom walls; we will be safe."

"At what cost!" cried the hedgehog, "You'd be sacrificing the free will of you and your clan. What about your son? He will be killed without hesitation."

Constant Vigil's eyes glowed with a sudden burning intensity, "My son will never be in danger. I will not allow it."

"How can you prevent it? Surely the Monolithians will eliminate any potential threat to their control-especially the son of a clan leader that could cause a revolt among their captives."

"Do not concern yourself with the safety of my child after abandoning your own."

Aleena, with a heavy heart, realized that she was wasting her time. She didn't care about what happened to the Shinobi clan, but without their help it would not be long before the wolves had enslaved the hedgehogs as well, and eventually all of Mobius. That was the future that Magia had envisioned.

And Magia's predictions were never wrong.

Aleena turned to leave, "You're making a mistake," she murmured, "it doesn't have to end like this."

"You can spout as much nonsense as you wish from that ivory tower of yours, Hedgehog," the chameleon laughed without humor, "but soon the wolves will be there to knock it down."

"I'm sure they will," the royal replied with conviction, "But unlike you, I will fight for my freedom of my people and my family. If you honestly believe that a quick surrender is more honorable than a loss, than you have no idea what honor is."

With that said, Queen Aleena turned on her heel and made for the exit. Her words still hung in the air like a sharp blade. Constant Vigil was impressed with Aleena's tenacity. She stuck to her ideals. Unfortunately, she was nothing more than a pawn in the clan leader's game.

In the present day, Roman was sitting on the front porch outside the Chaotix office. The dawn was just starting to break, and the fog from last night's rain was settling over the sea.

 _You are such a fool;_ _you have a job to do. You do not have time to waste with these clowns._

"They seem like nice people," she whispered in response, "And I cannot go back to Monolith."

 _Magia gave you life for one reason and one reason alone. What would she think if she saw you throw that away? Abandoning your legacy? Wasting her time and sacrificing the freedom of millions?_

"Magia died a long time ago, what she would think has no effect on me now."

This conflict was interrupted by the sight of a woman rounding the corner. A rabbit in a brown and white dress was approaching the office.

Roman was instantly alarmed, reaching for her hood only to remember that she had left her cloak inside.

 _She looks harmless enough, just don't act suspicious and you will be okay._

The rabbit slowed her pace upon reaching the stairs, "Who are you?" She asked.

"You approached me."

The bunny blinked, "My name is Vanilla. I need to speak with Vector."

Roman was never a good judge of character, but even she could tell there was no danger here. "Of course, one moment please."

She escaped inside, leaving Vanilla, -who was now very confused- standing by the porch steps.

The boys were all sleeping soundly, including Vector, who slept behind his desk. Roman was wary to disturb the snoring beast, so she woke Espio instead.

"What are you doing?" He asked after being poked a few times in the head.

"There's a lady outside named Vanilla. She wishes to speak to Vector."

The chameleon was up in a flash, he stepped outside with Roman in toe.

Vanilla was happy to see a familiar face, "Hello."

"Good morning, Vanilla," was his reply.

 _So they know each other,_ thought Roman.

"What can we do for you?" Espio asked.

Vanilla's eyes seemed misty, "My Cream has disappeared, and I was hoping you boys could find her for me."

(I'll post the next chapter soon, now that I have some free time. The first volume of this series was horribly sloppy, as I now realize, and will probably be redone in the future. But, as I mentioned before, I know what I want to do with this series now, I just wasn't sure how to get it started. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this little prologue, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter, thanks for reading!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Chaotix were aboard a train heading towards the Bullet Station. Charmy was bouncing with excitement, and Roman was looking out the window. Beyond the scarlet sun-kissed canyons resided a lush green jungle.

Vector was thinking about the case, and Espio's mind was a mile away.

 _Where did she come from,_ he pondered, _and how did she convince Vector to let her stay with us?_

The train car was totally empty, save for the detectives. The only noise that could be heard was the loud swishing sound of the train rushing upon the rails.

"Apparently," Vector began, hoping to break the silence, "Vanilla sent Cream to the market in Frog Forest yesterday to pick up spices, and she never came home."

"There's a market in Frog Forest?" Espio asked.

Roman answered, "Yes, actually, the Greenleaf Market. It's located about five miles from the Bullet Station. You get there by following a path along the river."

Vector was impressed, "Yep, and we're going to visit the market first, to see if anyone's seen her."

Espio instantly raised a brow, "Wait a minute, you mean we don't have a specific idea of where she might be?"

The croc shook his head, nonchalant.

"Vector, do you understand how large an area that Forest covers? It goes on for miles."

"I have a hunch she'll be hidden somewhere between us and Greenleaf. If no one's seen her, that means she never made it; and if they have seen her, that would mean she got lost on the way back."

"Who's to say she got lost?" Asked Espio, "I assume she's been there before, and if that's the case, that means someone or something kept her from coming back."

"And if," Roman said, "by some chance, she _was_ taken, it's hard to tell where she is now. She could be here or she could be light-years away."

Vector waved them off, "Don't let your imaginations get away from you just yet. We'll see what we can find out, and if we don't find her before sundown, then you can panic all you want, okay?"

"She got lost yesterday, right?" Charmy asked, "Surely she can't be too far away already. We'll find her for sure!"

As he said this, the train grinded to a halt. The team stepped out onto the platform and into the hot midday air. It would only get worse in the forest, where it would no doubt be humid and suffocating.

Espio let out a little sigh. It was going to be a long, _long_ day.

…

Greenleaf was aglow with activity when the Chaotix arrived. There were several small shops stationed right at the river. There was also a tiny dock with wooden boats that bobbed with the current.

There was a badger manning the first shop on the right. Vector approached him. He appeared to be middle-aged, and was missing some of his teeth. He wore a sweater-vest and a little green cap.

"Hello, there." He welcomed, "What can I do for you?"

"We're Team Chaotix," Vector replied, "We're detectives, and we're looking for a lost little girl. Have you seen any young rabbits pass through this area recently?"

Espio added, "She has a pet Chao with her, if that helps."

The badger didn't miss a beat, "You mean Cream? Sure, she stopped by yesterday. She always comes to see me when she passes through. Wait, you're suggesting she's missing?"

Vector nodded, "Yep, and we're trying to find her. Is there anything else you can tell us? Was she acting strangely? Did she say anything unusual?"

"Was there someone else with or around her that you didn't recognize?" Espio asked.

The badger shook his head, genuinely confused, "No. She stopped by, got what she needed, payed, and left."

"Okay," Vector said, "Thanks, old timer. Let's go boys."

Roman hadn't been paying attention; she was distracted by the behavior of the other Mobians. They all seemed shaky and on-edge, constantly looking over their shoulders and bolting the instant they were finished.

 _How strange._

She approached an adult fox at one of the other shops. The fox was buying shotgun ammunition, and was holding a rather large bag of groceries, like she planned on being holed-up for a while.

She cautiously approached, "Um, excuse me?"

The fox turned quickly. Her eyes were bloodshot, like she hadn't slept, "What?" Her voice was icy, "What do you want?"

Roman tensed, "Everyone seems to be in panic, would you have any idea why?"

The fox leaned down to Roman's level, "You don't know?"

The panther shook her head.

"Have you not heard the howls in the wind? The crunching of leaves right outside our doors? Have you not _seen_ them?" She stood back up, "I thought that, after all these years, they had finally given up; I thought we were finally free, but I suppose we can never truly escape from them."

After that, the fox turned and fled, but Roman's body was frozen.

 _Look at what you've done._

"Hey, rookie!" Charmy squealed, "Are you coming with us or not?"

Roman exhaled, and- after swallowing her panic- turned to follow her new friends into the jungle.


End file.
